The Three Things Serial Story Giveaway Winners

I realize I should have preceded the launch of this novella with a cover reveal. Then I should have done several posts to build anticipation about the upcoming release. And then a pre launch announcement, and then a launch party. And then a post announcing the launch of the paperback. And another announcing the e-book. And then… Well, I simply don’t have time for that kind of marketing. This blog is as much marketing as I’m able to do. So thanks all that much more for visiting!

Amazon Giveaway for 2 ebooks:

Robert Young and Betty Allen

(I would like to elaborate, but Amazon didn’t provide details.)

Random Drawing for 1 Paperback

So that everyone could have a chance, no matter your location, I also did a random drawing from comments. I numbered the comments and then used an online random number generator to objectively pick the winner. The paperback goes to Olga Núñez Miret. Be sure to visit her blogand take a look at all her fantastic books.

Three Things Serial Characters

The “things” left by readers of the blog led me to each of the characters for this whimsical vision of the Jazz Age. I thought it might be fun to show you how I imagine them. So in no particular order, please meet the cast of The Three Things Serial.

Paisley Idelle Peabody (Better known to you as Pip)

Young Lucille Ball

The moment I saw a picture of a teen-aged Lucille Ball she became my Pip. In my imagination the voice of a grown-up Lucy narrates The Three Things Serial, looking back on the adventures of her youth.

Pip might be a tad conservative, naive, or innocent as flappers go, but that allows her to take people as they are, without judgement. Time and “things” will tell if that open-hearted naïveté gets her into a pickle — or maybe a whole barrel-full of them!

The heart of a true flapper beats in Pip, and she is determined to be what she thinks of as a modern woman.

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Pops (Pip’s Unseen Dad)

John Forsythe 1958

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Mona the Movie Star

Pip enjoyed giving everyone nicknames, usually based on their occupations or their aspirations. Her friend and neighbor, Mona, had big dreams of being an actress, but little chance of seeing them come to fruition. Mona is something of a flirt, but you won’t see her “lead anyone on.” It’s just that people (particularly men) jump to do things for her.

In my imagination, the original “It Girl” — Clara Bow plays Mona.

Clara Bow

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Andy the Astronaute-man

Willie Garson

Andy Avis

The “things” for Episode-2 required me to write about a ballerina, a fireman, a movie star, and an astronaut. Have I mentioned that I’m a research geek? I had to make sure the word “astronaut” was actually used in the 1920’s. I got conflicting information, but the greater consensus said “no.” However, I learned the term Astronaute was used in France at the time. So Andy Avis is also of French descent.

Andy is also a science fiction writer, hence Pip’s nickname for him Andy the Astronaute-man. Despite the heroic stories he writes, Andy is not the bravest bean in the bowl. Discretion is pos-i-lute-ly the better part of valor with him. To his credit, sometimes Andy overcomes his big fears and takes action. Doesn’t it take a lot more courage to do something when you’re afraid than if you are just naturally brave or fool hearty?

Right away I saw a younger Willie Garson as my Andy. (You might know him from “White Collar” orSex and the City.) I could see the friendship between him and Mona. Although unlike Stanford, Andy hopes the friendship will become a romance.

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Ca’ d’Zan

Ca’d’Zan Mansion

The Ringling Mansion. Although it is not truly a character theCa’d’Zanmansion is an important part of this story. Learning about this amazing place was so much fun that I had to include it here. I hope you’ll do some research of your own about the home of John and Mabel Ringling.

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The Fabros

Frankie Fabro and His Cousins

Next meet Frankie the Fireman and his cousins Flavio, Fedel, and Frediano. First came Frankie. He’s taller and a little bigger than his cousins, but all four of the young men look a lot alike. Elder brother Flavio looks out for twins, Fred and Fedel. Pip has a crush on Frankie. Flavio, like most men, seems to think Mona is the berries.

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Countess Bepa Babikov

The mysterious white-haired woman… turns out to be a real life countess. It was after Bepa Babikov came along that I saw a photo of Countess Von Hartenau that was simply the vision of Bepa’s elegance, as well as her fierce determination. She instantly replaced any other image I had of Bepa.

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Boris the Ballerina

Fred Astaire

Retired from the Ballets Russes after a career-ending injury, Boris gives the occasional dance lesson to earn a living. Mona is infatuated with Boris, but also conflicted. She has some ways of thinking to outgrow. Boris is the strong silent type. His friends have to work at it to get to know him. When I saw a photo ofFred Astaire, in a rather sulky pose, it made me think of Boris.

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Many congratulations to all the winners and big congratulations on the launch of your new book, Teagan. I love the 1920s era and can see myself doing the Charleston while twirling my string of pearls.
I wish you lots of success with your new book.
Hugs to you,
Hugh

Hi Gerlinde. There’s no such thing as late at Teagan’s Books. 🙂 I’m always pleased to see you whenever you have time. That’s so kind of you to say about the book. A wonderful, hug-filled weekend to you as well. ❤ 🙂

Welcome Sarah! So dieselpunk? Awesome — I wasn’t familiar with it, but now (thanks to another research tangent 🙂 — I also see Decopunk, Atompunk, and Clockpunk! What fun! LOL, yes once in a while I get frustrated with research, when it doesn’t fit what I hoped or needed. However, my only real frustration with it is not having enough time to follow the thousand tangents I’d like to investigate.
I enjoyed your blog, it’s pos-i-lute-ly the cat’s pajamas! Thanks so much for visiting. Huge hugs.

Congratulations to all the winners! I guess I’ll have to shell out my 99 cents for your novella, lol, which of course I don’t mind at all Teagan! I missed this first serial you ever did, so it will be fun for me to read!

Haha. Kathryn, it’s great to see you. The Amazon giveaway was more of my “grand experiment in Indie” — I only had half a clue what I was doing. Now that it’s over, I think I understand how it worked. It was pretty cool; something I’ll use again sometime. I’m happy you want to get to know this first serial. It was fun. I’m sorry you weren’t part of that story, but delighted that you are here now. Mega hugs.

a worthy post with some lucky winners! Enjoyed your characters too. And the ‘cat’s pajamas’.. well we have ‘cat’s whiskers’ here. Do you have whiskers? Or Bee’s Knees? Or the more earthy Dog’s Bollocks?

Hi Geoff. Bees have fuzzy knees, right? So I always wondered where they got that expression to use as a compliment. Maybe fuzzy knees were stylish in the 20s… And I’ve never had a cat who would consent to pajamas or any other clothing. But compared to today’s slang, it all makes brilliant sense. 😈

It was fun seeing your character line-up, Teagan. I like how we get pictures in our heads. I pick out photos too and refer back to them quite a bit as I write. Good luck with the book! Huge Hugs, and have a great weekend!

Brr! is right… I knew it must be pretty frigid up there, when I went outside here around 9 AM and it was only 32 with sunshine. I’m making potato & cauliflower soup — I’ll send you a virtual bowl! More hugs.

Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
Teagan announces the winners for her signed copy and ebook versions of her new book Three Things Serial Story and introduces us to her wonderful characters.

Yahoo! What a way to start the day, dear Teagan! Loved this! Congrats to all the winners! 🙂
I’m glad you could make it back to my blog party to share this. Hope you can keep coming back to share more, more, more of your brilliant writing.
Hope the week is a relaxing and lovely time, dear friend.
Mega that bathtub gin you brought to the party sure packed a kick, then John brought the olives and now jello, I’m thinking we may, hiccup, be dancing on the tables, flappers twirling our pearls quite soon hugs xoxo

Hahaha! Thank you, dear Donna, for that happy flapper dancing image. I think you’ve inspired me to do a Roaring Twenties blog party next weekend. I’m headed to my jewelry box to find that long strand of costume pearls… 😀

Ha — I think most of us could use some good luck. Maybe my little giveaway experiment will somehow help bring some general good luck to everyone. It was a total experiment, especially the Amazon part. I didn’t understand how it worked until after it was over and I figured out how they did things… It was pretty cool.
I’m delighted that you want to re-read the story, Olga.
Have a wonder-filled weekend.
Mega hugs!